京のキー Superstition and belly-buttons

Superstition and belly-buttons

You should cover your navel
when thunder rumbles for the gods might well steal your belly button.

Parents often say such things to their children when
thunder rumbles, and originally it was meant as a warning that children (who often ran
around scantily clothed) should put on their kimonos. Traditional Japanese
belief has it that cold weather can cause problems such as diarrhea, cramps, or
stomach pains, so people wore haramaki (long pieces of cloth wrapped
around their stomach) and were very concerned about keeping their stomachs warm.
Lightning is often accompanied by a sudden drop in temperature, so they were
telling their kids to put on something warm, but since children arenít likely to
listen to that sort of warning, they told them that the thunder god could steal their
belly-buttons.